Bartenders in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,142
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$3,758
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$23,514
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$26,900
Kept after tax
$23,142
Worth in national money
$23,514
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Minnesota is among the lower-paying states for bartenders. The middle earner takes $26,900, ranking 40 of 51 states — about 21.67% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Minnesota, this one sits low: 489 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $26,900 the take-home is $23,142, which is worth about $23,514 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $30,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota ranks 40 of 51 for bartenders, with a median of $26,900 — about 21.67% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Bartenders occupies position 489 of 490 in Minnesota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for bartenders on its $26,900 median: $23,142 retained after tax becomes $23,514 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $30,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $23,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $38,790 |
| This salary | $26,900 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Minnesota | $23,142 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,762 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$939 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $26,146 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,108 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bartenders in Minnesota earn under $26,900 and half over. The published range runs $23,150 at the tenth percentile to $38,790 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Minnesota's $23,142, worked from $26,900. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 489 of 490.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $23,514 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 489.
- Figures are distribution medians for bartenders in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $23,150 to $38,790; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Minnesota take-home of $23,142, on $26,900 for work ranking 489 of 490 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 489 of 490 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $23,514, worked from $26,900, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Minnesota address, on work sitting at 489 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $30,680, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $23,150 at the bottom tenth to $38,790 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $23,514 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Minnesota adds its own income tax on top — which is why $23,142 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Minnesota is $30,680. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($23,150 to $38,790) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $23,514 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $23,142 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.